High-risk heart patient forced to call 999 from hospital

A MAN who survived four heart attacks was forced to call 999 from a hospital after claiming staff ignored his appeal for help while suffering chest pains.

Casper King, 47, had visited Hammersmith Hospital, in west London, on November 19, for an appointment when he started feeling ill.

The former music manager, who was recovering from his fourth heart attack in August, said he told staff about his medical history but was ignored.

The father-of-one said: “I told them, ‘I am actually having a lot of chest pain at the moment, please take it seriously’ and no one would. I just sat down. Doctors are passing; nurses are passing and no one seemed to be trained enough to notice these symptoms.”

King told The Voice: “From inside the actual hospital, I had to call 999 and say to them ‘look, this is my history. I’m having loads of chest pain at the moment. I can’t even breathe. Tears are pouring down my eyes. I’m in so much pain and no one is taking me seriously.’

Then the ambulance guy on 999 says ‘put someone on; let me have a word’ and only then did they actually start taking it seriously. Then they got a wheelchair. This was like half an hour afterwards.”

London Ambulance Service (LAS) confirmed it received a call on November 19 around 2.35 pm from a man at Hammersmith Hospital and sent a ‘single responder in a car’.

When the paramedic got to the hospital, the caller had already been taken to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department, LAS said.

King, from Shepherds Bush Green in west London, said even for the A&E “it took another 15 minutes before they saw me.”

He was admitted to hospital and discharged two days later after tests showed his chest pains were not linked to another heart attack.

But King, who is considering suing the hospital, contended that the horrific episode had left him traumatised. “It was really scary that the hospital don’t take you that seriously. You hear nightmares and complaints of people going in and dying in there and you can see exactly why.”

A spokeswoman for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, responsible for Hammersmith Hospital, told The Voice: “We are very concerned to hear about Mr King’s experiences and conducting an urgent investigation into his care. We are contacting Mr King and would very much like the chance to discuss his care.”